1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sport training device and more particularly to the golf training device for assisting a golf player in aligning a golf club through an arcuate path for contacting a golf ball.
2. Background of the Invention
The game of golf has a very lengthy history and continues to attract many golf players each year. The game of golf may be very beneficial to a golf player in that it promotes hand eye coordination, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness. In addition, the game of golf may improve the personal and or business relationship among the golf players.
Although the game of golf may appear to be easily performed, a novice may find that in reality the game of golf can be quite discouraging. Even an experienced golf player may find the game of golf to be problematic. The golf player strives to control the direction and distance of the golf ball upon contact with a head of a golf club. Since the contact area between the head of the golf club and the golf ball is relatively small and the distance between the head of the golf club and the golf player is relatively large, the golf player may find it difficult to control the head of the golf club through an arcuate path for correctly contacting the golf ball with the head of the golf club.
Various types of golf training devices have been proposed by the prior art for instructing the golf player to correctly align the head of the golf club with the golf ball for controlling both the direction and distance of the golf ball. The following U.S. Patents are examples of attempt of the prior art to solve these problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,415 to Stuart discloses a golf putter sighting device that includes a clamp that removably and adjustably engages the shaft of the putter with the clamp supporting a rigid outwardly extending body on which two laterally spaced sights are mounted. The clamp is adjusted on the shaft to a position where an imaginary line extending through the sights is normal to the striking face of the putter, and a substantial portion of the body between the sights is obstructed by the shaft when the user is in a putting position and looking down onto the shaft and head of the putter. When the sights are visible as equally spaced on opposite sides of the shaft, the striking face of the putter head is normally disposed to the direction of the swing of the putter head as the latter is used in putting a golf ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,268 to Lorang discloses an apparatus enabling a golfer to visually determine that he has the face of his putter normal to the target line and that he is stroking his putter along a straight line with the face of his putter at a right angle relative to the target line by visually indicating conformance thereto or deviation therefrom. A gauge is mounted on the shaft of the putter spaced above the club head. The gauge extends outwardly from the golfer and lies in his line of vision from his eye to the ball and the club head. The gauge is set on the shaft at the same angle as the putting face. The gauge has two like side members aligned on either side of the putter face and/or an additional central member aligned with the putter face. The golfer aligns the putter face at the ball between the side members and/or the central member in visual alignment. He maintains the visual alignment prior to and during his entire putting stroke. If alignment is maintained, he has stroked his club against the ball along a straight line and at a right angle to it. If the alignment is not maintained he has turned the shaft angularly, stroked on a curve, stroked on a non-target line, and/or a combination thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,376 to Johnson discloses a golf club swinging guide adapted for use on a golf club having a shaft and a head with a striking face. The guide includes a mount having a clamp for connecting the mount to a golf club generally above the head of the club. There is a vane pivotally connected to the mount. The vane is freely pivotal and responsive to movement of air so the vane visibly aligns itself in the direction the golf club is swung.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,297 to Johnson discloses golf clubs that exhibit at least one marking indicia on the surface of the shaft and extending along at least one of the lateral sides of the shaft. The marking indicia is preferably a series of lines that are parallel to the edge of the shaft and separated by a distance sufficient to be revealed or hidden as the club face is opened or closed by small angular increments. Golf shafts according to the invention include: a shaft having a circular cross section and comprising (a) a tip end for attaching a club head to the shaft, (b) a butt end for attaching a grip to the shaft, and (c) at least one linearly oriented first alpha marking indicia positioned on the exterior of the shaft within an angle, .alpha., about 45.degree. to about 135.degree. from a clockwise position relative to top dead center of the shaft and extending up the shaft away from the tip end for a distance sufficient to allow a golfer to view the marking indicia and discern an angular position of the club face of up to about 15.degree. relative to a square alignment. The present invention provides a shaft having alignment indicia that are convenient and reproducibly used to produce a square, slice, or hook shot. Having the indicia located within the lower half of the shaft reduces the need to shift focal point when viewing the indicia thereby assisting the golfer in maintaining concentration when preparing for a shot. The view focus does not need to shift from the club head to an alignment device located on or next to the hand grip. A shaft with a circular cross section permits the use of a plurality of linearly extending indicia that can be positioned to provide a variety of reproducible shots of incremental amounts of hook or slice.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,188 to Hernberg discloses a device for providing visual feedback to the golf player of his grip during his golf stroke in maintaining proper alignment of the golf club face and the golf ball while increasing the air resistance the player encounters during the golf stroke. The device comprises a finned member for securement to the shaft of a conventional golf club adjacent the head. Certain of the fins include surfaces having visually perceptible indicia thereon, e.g., colors. The device is arranged so that one of the fins is oriented in a direction whereupon certain indicia are not visible if the club head is in a desired orientation, but will be visible if the club head is in another orientation, e.g., open or closed. The fins provide wind resistance during the swing. A weight may be secured to one of the fins.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,273 to Stormon discloses a putter fitting tool and stroke analyzer, called the “fitting tool”, is to custom fit a golf club putter to match the composite physical stature and preferred stroking posture of an individual golfer. The tool's lie angle indicator marks when aligned between the eyes and putterhead sight or ball striking point, makes a 90 degree sight plane to the target called “sight plane”. The putter is adjusted in manufacturing to match the sight plane specified by the tool. The preferred sight of the system is specially constructed to duplicate the desired sight plane once the tool is removed. This allows the golfer to putt from the same stroking position every time. The sight plane indicator marks or lie angle marks of the tool allow the golfer to try-a variety of sight planes to select the one most suited to his putting posture. The tool, as a stroke analyzer, magnifies deviations from the sight plane (the “sight plane” is the plane which intersects the clubhead, target, and golfer's eye) during the stroke. The tool has additional marks to indicate the adjustment the manufacturer uses to compensate for a putter sight location difference between the putter used for fitting and the putter the consumer is ordering. The fitting tool consists of the following: a rod with lie angle or sight plane indicator marks, a finger nut, a flange nut, and a loop clamp.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,509 to Gray discloses a training/playing aid for clamping on the shaft of a golf club for use in the measurement of movement in degrees that a golfer comes over the top of the ball at impact. Upon measurement of this movement, the training/playing aid is adjusted making it possible to position the golfer in a correct golf ball addressing stance. The training/playing aid comprises an elongated arm having a clamp at one end for securing the arm to the shaft of the golf club to extend laterally thereof. The clamp comprises a cylindrical shell having an opening at one side for clamping on the shaft of the golf club. The arm is streamlined with a streamlined pointer movably mounted on the arm of the golf club in a direction parallel with the head of the club with the pointer aligned with the “sweet spot” of the golf club.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,007 to Tatum discloses a golf putting training device attached to the shaft of a putter having a shape that extends out from the shaft and forms an elongated edge that is aligned by a user along the heel of the putter so that a spacing is formed between the edge and a golf ball adjacent the putter head face at address. The user moves the putter head along the putting stroke so that the spacing is maintained essential constant throughout the stroke thereby ensuring the putter head face is maintained perpendicular to the target line during the putting stroke.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,447,401 to Torkos discloses a golf club alignment device to be secured to an outer surface of a golf club shaft. The device comprises a band of material having first and second markings positioned at first and second ends of a central portion, the markings being of contrasting visual appearance relative to the central portion of the band, with the markings preferably being light in colour and the central portion of the band preferably being dark in colour. The contrasting visual appearance of the markings and the central portion create visual transition points between the markings and the central portion of the band. The transition points between the markings and the central portion of the band are spaced apart by a distance such that, when the band is applied to the cylindrical surface of the golf club shaft with the center point of the central portion coincident with the rearmost point of the shaft, the transition points are located at 180 degrees to one another and at 90 degrees to the rearmost point on the shaft. When the device is installed on the golf club shaft, the central portion of the band extends about the rear face of the shaft, while the contrasting markings wrap around the front face of the shaft. The golfer aligns the club by sighting down along the front face of the shaft and rotating the club until both of the outer markings are visible while no part of the central portion is visible to ensure that the striking face of the golf club is properly aligned relative to the intended path of ball travel.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,850 to Hong discloses a training golf club helping a golfer become aware of the direction and angle of their swing and adjust their stance, the angle at which they are holding their club and the direction of their swing or putter when practicing. The golf club has a club-shaft, a club-grip, and a club-head. An improvement includes an assistant plate being fixed onto the club-shaft. The assistant plate is parallel to the ball striking face of the club-head. The assistant plate has a horizontal bottom edge, and the horizontal bottom edge and a bottom edge of the club-head is preferably located along a same plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,059,970 to Hamburger discloses a golf club alignment device for aiding a user in striking a golf ball with a golf club having a head, shaft and handle. The alignment device includes a body having first and second ends. A clamp portion extends from the first end of the body and is adapted for resilient and removable attachment to the shaft of the golf club. The device further includes a sighting structure extending from the second end of the body. The sighting structure is configured having a width less than the diameter of the shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,258,622 to Gaviria discloses a training aid for monitoring and improving the orientation a golfer's hands while gripping the golf club as well as the golf club itself during the swing thereof, wherein the structure of the training aid is such as to allow it to be removably attached to the golf club and travel therewith during the swing without interfering with the normal path of the golf club during such swing. A base assembly comprises a housing removably connected to the club shaft and a reference assembly movably interconnected to the housing and positionable into an operative position. The reference assembly includes one or more legs disposable radially outward from the housing and into frontal alignment with a longitudinal axis of the golf club when in the operative position such that the one leg and/or an indicator structure thereon is readily observable as the club travels along the swing path.
Although the aforementioned prior art have contributed to the development of the art of golf training devices, none of these prior art patents have solved the needs of this art.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved golf training device for assisting a golf player in aligning a golf club through an arcuate path contacting a golf ball.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved golf training device that may be positioned upon one or more golf clubs.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved golf training device that may be easily installed and removed from a golf club without damaging either the golf training device or the golf club.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved golf training device that may assist the golf player to align the golf club for a plurality of golf shots.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved golf training device that may assist a golf trainer for instructing a golf player to align a golf club through an arcuate path for contacting a golf ball.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by modifying the invention within the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.